Category: A Ride for April


Please be sure to check out the first post in this series and support A Ride for April. davidtimberline.com/a-ride-for-april/

Lake to lake complete! On a cold, windy afternoon in South Haven, I finally caught a glimpse of Lake Michigan and I couldn’t stop smiling

It’s been almost 275 miles versus the 250 I planned but, after completing the traverse, it seems like I only just started.

It was a much more challenging day than I expected. I left Paw Paw, Michigan, with its stately statehouse around 10:30, another colder than usual morning – but at least it was windy!

Half the day was supposed to be on something called the Van Buren Trail. But when I got to it, here’s what it looked like.

Not asphalt, not crushed rock, not even dirt. It was basically just ground, essentially a hiking trail. After 20 minutes struggling across it, going maybe 2 miles, I jettisoned the trail. It is a straight northwest diagonal shot to South Haven, so instead I had to stair step along alternate northward and westward heading county roads. It definitely added a couple miles but the smoothness of asphalt was like heaven after hobbling along the trail.

I really didn’t stop to check out wildlife or other interesting sites in the last 5 miles or so, anxious for the lake I knew was almost in sight. When I got down to it, the wind was whipping up whitecaps and I had no desire to linger. Before long, I was at my hotel celebrating with a nice cold one.

Tomorrow I wrap up with a relatively light sojourn back to Paw Paw and this biking journey will be over. I’m both sad and excited to wrap it up.

In honor of reaching the lake, I wanted to highlight “Trout, Trout, Trout! A Fish Chant,” April’s first species specific chanting book. Another mainstay in our kids’ reading repertoire, this book has some bold colorful fish drawings that are a great compliment to April’s fun fishy prose.

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Please support my Ride For April. davidtimberline.com/a-ride-for-april/

Zero miles today! I think my body was a little surprised at the relative inactivity — but grateful!

On this day off, here are a few facts and reflections:

I was supposed to have ridden 225 miles over the past 5 days. With mistakes and misdirections, it’s ended up being over 232. Those “oops”es add up.

Last time I checked, people have donated $995 toward the Sayre Fund for Nature in honor of this ride. I’m really blown away — thank you all so much!

Every day on a trail, I have seen items like water bottles, dog leashes, and gloves hung from fences or placed prominently and obviously on picnic benches. My read has been it’s the result of people finding lost items and putting them somewhere to make finding them easier to those who have lost the items. There’s something about simple hopeful kindnesses like these that almost make me believe in the basic goodness of humans.

The many “Fuck Biden” flags in central Michigan (flying proudly under the American flag) somewhat undercuts that belief. Oh, and the very occasional Confederate flag…in Michigan. I mean, there’s a veneer of hiding behind “Heritage, not Hate” in Virginia. Here, what can that be about other than racism?

There have been a dozen times, I’ll pass a street or landmark and the name of it sticks a song in my head for at least the next hour, if not the whole day. In Port Huron, there was “Electric Avenue.” Outside Jackson, I saw the Stone Soap Company, misread it as Stone Soup and was singing the theme song from one of Holly’s kids shows all day. The sign above prompted me to think “Stop, look around…” leading to a couple hours trying to remember the lyrics to this:

The biggest anxiety of the trip has been imperfect technology (i.e., my phone’s been acting up). Note to self: paper maps don’t need to be charged…

April’s last book to be published, coming out this past March, was “Happy Sloth Day!” It’s a testament to her photography skills, the number of fun shots of sloths included. I wasn’t exactly a sloth today but I did take it easy. April’s book validates sloths for their slow-moving but still fascinating lifestyle, and I’m taking that as a validation of a good day of rest!

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Please be sure to check out the first post in this series and support A Ride for April. davidtimberline.com/a-ride-for-april/

It’s amazing what a difference elevation makes. Michigan does not have the extremes of elevation that your Virginias or your Colorados have but the first 3 days of this ride were subtly uphill most of the way. These last two have been subtly downhill and today’s 52 miles flew by, not even close to the slog I was expecting given my 61 mile day.

Only about of a third of the miles today were on trails but they were nice ones. That’s the Battle Creek Linear Park above and the Kalamazoo Valley Trail below.

In comparison to the long straight trails I’ve mostly been on, the KVT had some cool curvy spots so I could zoom through and pretend I was a racecar (yes, that’s the kind of thing you do when you’re biking all day).

I also had opportunities today to think about non-naturey topics. In downtown Battle Creek there was this impressive monument to the Underground Railroad.

And then as I got close to Kalamzoo, I passed this riverside encampment of folks who are apparently homeless. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen a discreet tent in an out of the way spot that was clearly where someone was living, but it was definitely the biggest grouping (the encampment goes on for like another 50 yards).

It made me think of the book I’ve been reading this trip called “Station Eleven.” It’s about a post apocalyptic society where a troupe of actors and musicians are traveling around Michigan. Those who remember the days before the collapse reflect on having things like electricity, flying in planes, being able to use the internet. Seeing those tents today it occurred to me that, if there was some apocalypse, there’d likely be a surprising number of people who wouldn’t know the difference.

On a lighter note, I also took notice when I saw signs for an upcoming historic marker. When I got there, it was a theater! The Barn Theatre is an equity house that’s been doing shows since 1954. Their sign declared hopefully “See you in June!” An equity house in rural central Michigan makes me very happy.

I had picked out “The Slowest Book Ever” to feature today because I thought I was going to be feeling it was the slowest day of the ride, given the mileage and knowing I’d be looking forward to a day off tomorrow. Even though it didn’t end up that way, this is a great book to talk about just because it’s quirky and fun. Here’s the warning April gives at the beginning:

“This is a S-L-O-W book. Do not read it while surfing, water skiing, or running to escape giant weasels…”

Thinking about reading while surfing is funny enough, even before the giant weasels. I went faster than I expected today. I’m looking forward to taking it S-L-O-W tomorrow!

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Please be sure to check out the first post in this series and support A Ride for April. davidtimberline.com/a-ride-for-april/

This may have been the first time in 31 years Holly and I spent our anniversary apart. But sweetheart that she is, she sent me on my way with gifts and cards to open on my journey, so I’ve felt her with me the whole time. Love you, Mrs Timberline!

And even though I was wishing Holly was with me, it ended up being a pretty glorious day. For one, I made a friend. Well, maybe more of an acquaintance, but he was a cool guy. His name is Gary Mason and I chatted him up when I saw him taking trailside pictures.

Turns out that the birds I saw yesterday that I thought were herons are actually sand hill cranes! Gary was intently watching a breeding pair because one of their eggs had just hatched (you can see a bit of one of them in the pic above). He let me use his binoculars and it was amazing to see the little fluff ball on the nest.

Gary regularly posts on Facebook and I’ll include a link below to his shots from a couple weeks ago that show the cranes pre-fluff ball.

The first third of my day was spent on two pristine trails, the Inter-city Trail, that has recently been renamed for MLK (above), and the Falling Waters Trail where I met Gary (below).

Falling Waters has to be the best trail I’ve been on, definitely on this trip and possibly ever. As pictured, the trailheads not only feature nice landscapes, they also spotlight cool art. The trail surface was smooth as silk and the vistas beautiful. There was even actual falling water along the way (that’s a waterfall in the background below) and some real signs of spring.

I know I’ve already posted a lot of Michigan lakes but at one point the trail split between two large lovely lakes. It’s hard to capture how dramatic it is to be pedaling along through what is mostly woods and fields and then come upon a wide expansive of water. It can be pretty breathtaking.

The other two thirds of the ride were less picturesque but did have the benefit of some very welcome downhill stretches. I saw many acres of farmland which, this time of year, were clear and empty.

I’m now in a comfy motel in Marshall Michigan, resting up for tomorrow – my second longest day at almost 52 miles. Since I didn’t have much to share about today, I’ll relate something I forgot about yesterday. I stopped for a snack midway through yesterday’s marathon next to a dramatic looking tree. When I looked behind it, I saw it was next to a Biological Research Station (that’s what the sign says behind the tree below). For the next few miles as I road along the fenced area, I couldn’t help but think of “Stranger Things.” This place totally could have been the inspiration for that facility.

The book of April’s I thought of today was “One is a Snail, Ten is a Crab.” It’s one of those classic counting books but using the feet of animals to represent the numbers.

I thought this was appropriate because it’s a book April wrote with her husband Jeff and I love the idea of them hashing out ideas of how to get each number. I was also focused on a specific number all day (31). This was a book that was in regular rotation with our kids when they were little and thinking of it makes me very happy for the exposure my not-so-little-anymore kiddos got to a nature-centric way of thinking that runs through all of April’s books.

Finally, here’s a link to Gary Mason’s post that includes sand hill cranes. Enjoy!
m.facebook.com/gary.mason.3701/posts/pcb.10225739158017048/?photo_id=10225739142776667

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Please be sure to check out the first post in this series and support A Ride for April. davidtimberline.com/a-ride-for-april/

Exactly freezing. It was exactly 32 degrees when I set out this morning right before 10am. Weather reporter last night said it was 15-20 degrees below normal for this time of year. Well, I guess I can take some solace in that.

By 11am, it was 33. By noon, a balmy 34. The cold compelled me forward so I didn’t stop and take many pictures today.

But here’s the Walled Lake, that I passed just 2 miles into the ride. Central Michigan is chock full of beautiful lakes. Here’s another one.

Even as I was trudging on through the cold, I couldn’t help but feel grateful. I passed several construction crews and thought, I’m out here by choice, it’s not my job. I thought about how grateful I was that my panniers kept everything dry on that first rainy day, grateful that local and state governments had preserved the trails I was riding on (like the Huron Valley Trail, below), grateful I had the support of family and friends as I embarked on this ride.

Shortly after noon, small patches of blue skies appeared amidst the steel gray clouds. By two, I was actually riding in sunshine, a first for this trip. You can see shadows in the picture below.

This was my longest day: 61+ miles. For the first time, my body was seriously feeling it, particularly after mile 45. I spent most of the day on the Mike Levine Lakelands Trail. It is a lovely trail but also traverses horse country and farmland, pretty in its own way but not particularly photogenic. Here’s an example.

Right at the end of the trail there was a massive area of reedy wetland and herons were all over the place, and they weren’t so skittish so I got a couple good pics. The one below shows one prominent in the foreground and another one further back.

At the trail’s end, I was just 4 miles from my motel outside Jackson Michigan where mostly I collapsed. Sleeping in tomorrow before tackling a more rational 40 miles.

“Feel the Fog” is one of the books in April’s “Weather Walks” series, which is just a genius idea for something to focus a collection on. I picked it for today because, regardless of the weather, there are times when your mind gets a little foggy when you’re covering as much territory as I did today. There’s a great line in this book, “Fog limits what you can see, but it can expand what you imagine.” This book, like all the ones in the series, delivers answers to intriguing questions (e.g., “Why does fog feel cold?”) with lyrical language. April really was a one of kind talent.

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Please be sure to check out the first post in this series and support A Ride for April. davidtimberline.com/a-ride-for-april/

It’s too early to tell but I think I may look back on today as one of the best days of this ride. It was the shortest mileage wise (just over 35) and most of it was on rail trails. Even though I was climbing all day, it was slow and steady. But most exciting: wildlife!

Back 35 years ago, when I worked for the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, I regularly wrote marketing copy about how, among all their other benefits, rail trails were excellent wildlife corridors. I don’t think I really believed it back then but having spent chunks of two days on them, it’s no joke.

I spent the beginning of the day finishing up the Malcomb Orchard Trail (not Macon, an oops in yesterdays post). That’s me at the trail head in the first picture. I’ve seen about a thousand black squirrels and finally got a decent picture of one. Squirrels are mostly a nuisance at home, but the novelty of black ones makes their frequent appearances along the trails pretty charming.

The middle of the day was all Clinton River Trail. While it didn’t spend much time following a river and the surface was an often rough dirt or crushed rock, it regularly opened up into wide boggy wetlands full of cool birds. One little pond had trees dotted with nests, one of which had a Great Blue Heron in it.

I’ve seen a couple dozen red winged black birds which are delightful with their stuttering call and that flash of color as they zip by. (Sorry, they’re too skittish for me to have grabbed a good pic, but boy did I try!)

The day ended on the Michigan Air Line Trail, that was awesome both because of its smooth bike-friendly surface, but also some reedy marshy areas with big white birds I think might be egrets (???). I watched a pair for a while trying to get a good picture but they didn’t cooperate. Here’s a far away one of one of them flying away.

Today ends the first part of the trip I’ve been thinking of as “The Warm Up”: two relatively easy days. Tomorrow begins “The Trial”: three days with distances of 61, 40, and 51 miles. Oy. I’m a little sore just thinking about it.

I picked “Endangered Birds of North America” to feature today because birds were definitely on my mind all day. As April mentions in this book, the kinds of rural / suburban border areas that I was traveling through can be tricky for birds, and all wildlife really: natural oases surrounded by suburban hazards like cats, cars, and careless humans.

I read this book before I left on the trip and, even though it’s for middle schoolers, I learned a lot! One thing I appreciated about April was that she never talked down to her younger readers. This book doesn’t overwhelm you with science-talk but it delivers plenty of hard facts in April’s characteristically approachable way. https://www.amazon.com/Endangered-Birds-Scientific-American-Sourcebooks/dp/080504549X

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Please be sure to check out the first post in this series and support A Ride for April. davidtimberline.com/a-ride-for-april/

Wow, that was a day! Beginnings can be rough and today kinda was.

First, I kinda downplayed my bike ride from the train station last night. It was only 3.5 miles but it was thru a steady rain. The cool part was the hotel was by a huge bridge heading over to Canada that looked super dramatic at night.

But the not so cool part was waking up with soaked shoes. After employing some small hotel garbage can liners over my socks, it was off to Lake Huron where a very nice lake-gazer relented to my picture request.

And then I was off! It was dreary but dry for the first half of the day. It enabled me to take in some local sights like this creepy mannequin on a roadside gate.

Then, perhaps ironically, as I pulled into Richmond Michigan is started pouring.

The semi-bright side of that was Richmond was the beginning of the Macon Orchard Rail Trail, a nice flat, peaceful ride, traffic free even if it was very damp.

A highlight of this trail was a bike bridge that had a barn facsimile on the top. Not sure why they chose that motif but it made for a cool bridge!

I eventually pulled into Romeo, quite a hopping little town. Sadly, I couldn’t find a nearby companion city named Juliet. 38 miles down – just 260 to go!

On this, my first day of biking, it seems fitting to feature “If You Should Hear a Honey Guide.” It was April’s first book so also a beginning for her. Written in the second person, April made this particularly appealing to children by writing it in the second person, essentially making the listener a character.

This was a favorite at our house when our girls were little and I think it gave us a little extra cache with the kids when we said we knew the person who wrote the book.

April has talked about how many times her first book was rejected, a hard thing to persevere through. I was thinking about that (and her) as I was trudging through the rain today.

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Please be sure to check out the first post in this series and support A Ride for April. davidtimberline.com/a-ride-for-april/

Today was a day of moving around: a tranquil couple hours spent in April’s backyard, then off to the airport, drive to Paw Paw, then to Kalamazoo, finally ending up in Port Huron. The only biking so far has been from the train station to my hotel.

But at least here’s a beautiful picture of my lovely wife by April’s backyard pond.

It seems like a good day to draw attention to April’s book, “It’s My City” with the subtitle “A Singing Map.”

It’s easy to pigeonhole April as someone who only wrote about nature but this book is a great reminder that she was an amazing, imaginative writer no matter what topic she turned her attention to. This book celebrates the urban environment and overflows with the sights and, even more so, the sounds that you only find in a city: clanking metal grates, noisy street vendors, whooshing trains, and more.

Tomorrow I’ll be hitting those streets for the beginning of this cross state adventure. Can’t wait!

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